Pasay City – His Excellency President Ferdinand Marcos Jr lauded the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) at the 28th Investors' Night last 22 November 2023 for its pivotal role in the country’s socio-economic growth and development through the creation of more economic zones.
President Marcos Jr., said in his congratulatory remarks, “Your upscaling, sustaining a healthy investment climate, catering to investors with your dynamic and client-oriented practices as well as providing decent jobs for our fellow Filipinos are truly noteworthy.”
“It is my hope that you will continue to keep the trust and confidence of our stakeholders, embark on endeavors that will entice more partners from the private sectors to do business in the country and that their investments will always be protected and supported by the government. With PEZA leading the way, I am certain that we can make the Philippines a top destination for new and existing businesses and investments,” President Marcos Jr. highlighted.
Tereso O. Panga, the first homegrown Director General of PEZA expressed, “We thank President Marcos, Jr. for his unrelenting support to PEZA and to our mandates. PEZA continues to share the same vision of the President’s overarching goal Para sa Bagong Pilipinas by promoting economic zones, attracting strategic industries and productivity-enhancing investments, and accelerating countryside development.”
Held in World Trade Center, Pasay City, the PEZA 28th Investors’ Night is an annual tradition of celebrating the remarkable performance and contributions of economic zones, registered business enterprises (RBEs), and partner stakeholders.
Continued support and confidence from the government, industry association partners
During the celebration, First Lady Atty. Maria Louise A. Marcos delivered her video message of support and said, “PEZA works hard to ensure the success of economic zones which help bring investments and jobs into our country.”
Trade Secretary Pascual seconded the First Lady stating, “Since 1995, PEZA, our leading IPA, has played a pivotal role in the Philippine economy undoubtedly positioning our country as an attractive investment haven. PEZA exhibits competitiveness in attracting the predominant share of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) into the export-oriented sectors of the Philippines.”
Further, commending PEZA as an important pillar to the country’s socio-economic growth for more than 2 decades, Presidential Adviser on Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick D. Go said, “PEZA is the best government institution for investors to work with in the country. We continue to hope for PEZA’s active and strong partnership in elevating its brand of excellence, improving regulatory transparency, and strengthening best practices.”
Honorable Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, in a video message, has likewise assured PEZA and conveyed, “I am your ally to further establishing various economic zones in the Philippines to attract foreign investments. Let us win this together.”
Being most vocal in fighting for the retention of incentives and rights of ecozone investors under the CREATE regime, PEZA greatly appreciated the presence of Albay Representative Joey Salceda in the event, and for working closely with PEZA on the drafting of the proposed amendments to the CREATE law through the CREATE MORE (CREATE to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy) bill recently passed by the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Moreover, ecozone industry champions led by SEIPI President Dr. Danilo Lachica, IBPAP President Jack R. Madrid, PHILEA President Francisco S. Zaldarriaga, and JCCIPI Vice President and Executive Director Nobuo Fujii have all expressed their trust and confidence in PEZA given the agency's long-term and resilient growth and in enabling industries and innovation to provide for the best business ecosystem in the ecozones.
More international recognitions
PEZA recently received 2 recognitions from the Colliers Philippines and Bloomberg. Based on a survey conducted by Colliers last October 2023, the results revealed that PEZA remains the preferred choice of BPOs as the location of their operations most especially because of the ease of doing business through our one-stop-shop service.
Bloomberg’s Brand Buzz Study from October 2022 to October 2023 involving more than 150,000 publications worldwide reported that PEZA is the only government agency mentioned as a unique feature of the Philippine FDI landscape.
These recognitions add up to the existing accolades of PEZA such as from the IFC-World Bank, the US Department of State, and the UNCTAD-ASEAN.
PEZA Excellence Awardees
Aside from commending PEZA’s contributions to the Philippine economy and citations received, President Marcos, Jr. also congratulated all the awardees stating, “Let me urge you to further work with the national government in developing our key transformative areas such as in food security, electronics, logistics, and supply chains so that we can all enjoy our shared prosperity.”
A total of 32 awards were vested to 23 ecozone locator companies and developer-operators for their exemplary performance and contributions this year, which are as follows:
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OUTSTANDING EXPORTER
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OUTSTANDING EMPLOYER
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OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY PROJECTS
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OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
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ELEVATION TO HALL OF FAME
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BILLIONAIRES’ AWARD
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According to Director General Panga, “PEZA’s achievements would not have been possible without you. Our stakeholders are the main reason why we are here and why we do what we do. And we will continue to press on, knowing that you’re working alongside us.”
“As we always say in PEZA, we have a stake in your operations and therefore, it’s incumbent upon us to always strive for excellence and continual improvement of our services to ensure your growth and success,” the Director General noted.
147% increase on PEZA approved investments
From January to November 2023, the PhP 140.9 billion investments came from 197 PEZA Board-approved projects, generating PhP 3.4 billion exports and 33,845 jobs. These approved investments are 147% higher than last year’s same period with PhP 57.1 billion.
181 of the 197 projects are locator enterprises while the remaining 16 are ecozone developers. These projects are 8.84% higher than last year’s same period of 181 projects. Exports are also higher with 77.62% increase from last year’s $1.9 billion.
Meanwhile, for November 2023, PEZA Director General Panga provided a report, “We received 28 new and existing projects: 15 for export enterprise, 3 for IT, 5 for facilities, 2 for logistics, and 3 for ecozone development. These ecozone developer-operators will be located in Bacolod City, Kawit City in Cavite, and Iloilo City, further boosting the dispersion of ecozones in the regions in support of the agency's mandate to accelerate countryside development.”
PEZA’s performance for the month of November alone is expected to bring in PhP 9.1 billion investments, $ 397.6 million exports, and 5,324 direct jobs.
PEZA has also already accounted for 92% of our targeted investment approvals for this year and is positive to bring in more than PhP 50 billion additional investments by the end of 2023.
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